The Kickstarter Blog

Creator Q&A: Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:06:00 -0500

In brief, Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo is a documentary about bugs. Before you say “Eeeww!” — it is also, according to filmmaker Jessica Oreck, “a labyrinthine meditation on nature, beauty, philosophy, and Japanese culture [that] might just make you question if your ‘instinctive’ repulsion to bugs is merely a trick of Western conditioning.” Gotcha! But regardless of your opinion on creepy-crawlies, Beetle Queen’s in-depth examination of Japan’s relationship to the insect will captivate. “[It] allows us to directly connect with other human beings,” Jessica explains. “Even if their actions may seem somewhat alien. And through that connection, not only do we learn about other cultures, but we are also encouraged to reevaluate our own perceptions and interactions with the natural world.” Pretty cool!

Check out the rest of our Q&A below, wherein Jessica discusses her inspirations, ethnobiology, and super top-secret beetle hunting spots. Support her project here.

Where did inspiration for this idea come from?

I’ve always wanted to make ethnobiological films –- films about the way cultures interact with the natural world. The first time I heard about the Japanese love of insects, I was assisting in a classroom at the American Museum of Natural History a few months before my graduation from University. I knew, right away, that I was going to make a movie on this topic, and I started doing research the moment I got home. I couldn’t find anything in English on the subject, however, so I was forced to kind of put the idea aside in my head. And then, just two days later, my sister was in an airport in Baltimore sitting next to a cute Japanese man. They struck up a conversation and he mentioned he was an entomologist; she said, “My sister’s an entomologist!” and put us in touch. When I told Akito [Kawahara] that I wanted to make a movie about Japan’s enthusiasm for insects, he said, “Cool, we’ll stay at my parents’ house and I’ll introduce you to all of my entomologist friends.” It wasn’t quite as easy as all that, of course, but it really did feel like the stars were aligning.

Were you “icky” about insects prior to making this movie? Curious to know if and how your relationship to the little guys has changed.

I have always loved bugs – that’s part of the reason I wanted to make this movie. When I heard that this entire culture loved insects as much as I did, I felt like it was my calling.

This film is about a lot more than “bugs” — Japanese culture, philosophy, nature — did the aim of your film evolve to be more broad upon your exploration of the subject matter? Or did you go into it with a bigger picture mind-set from the beginning?

It was never my intent to make a straight-laced nature documentary. In a way, I feel like there isn’t really room for that any more. I idolize David Attenborough, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t interested in presenting a glossy, idealized version of nature where humans aren’t factored in. There isn’t a place on this planet that we haven’t affected, so we can no longer leave ourselves out of the equation. However, I also knew I wasn’t interested in making an environmental film –- instilling fear and guilt.

Ethnobiology is the perfect medium for the kinds of ideas I want to get across. It allows us to directly connect with other human beings, even if their actions may seem somewhat alien. And through that connection, not only do we learn about other cultures, but we are also encouraged to reevaluate our own perceptions and interactions with the natural world.

So, yes, I knew early on that the film was going to be about more than just bugs. But as my research deepened, I realized how closely tied I was, emotionally, to the Japanese people and I developed a better sense of which aspects were really going to shine through in the film.

What do you hope that your audience will take away from your film? What kind of reactions have people had so far?

The reactions have been really positive, thankfully. Because the film is so multi-disciplinary, it attracts a wide range of audiences. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from the entomological community, of course, but I’ve also had a number of experiences that I hadn’t anticipated, from sharing several group hugs with some stoners in Canada to having a wonderful conversation with a World War II veteran at a screening in Louisiana, which you can read more about on our Kickstarter page. Different people seem to connect with different aspects of the film -– it is exceedingly rewarding to hear all of these diverse reactions.

Any unusual and/or unexpected anecdotes from filmmaking? You must have crossed paths with a lot of interesting people!

It is hard to pick just one, but one of my favorite experiences was a night hunt on Mount Fuji. We made arrangements to follow one of our subjects to his favorite beetle hunting ground, which had to be kept very hush-hush because the hunting is so competitive. Following behind him in our car, we would have sworn he was trying to lose us -– swerving across the winding roads at nearly 45 miles an hour. When we finally arrived, it was breathtaking. The lights set up for the beetles had also attracted a group of lepidopterists collecting moths. The moths were so dense it was difficult to see, and the fog was incredibly beautiful in the lights. It’s one of my favorite scenes in the movie as well, but the experience of actually being there –- enjoying hot ramen and cookies with these hard-core collectors -– was pretty unforgettable.

How has your use of Kickstarter been so far?

Hmm… This is a tough one. I am really excited to be part of this thing, and I think the site and the format are great, but I had hoped that my friends and family were going to show a little more enthusiasm. At the same time, I am extremely grateful to those who have already pledged, and to Kickstarter itself. It’s a great opportunity for any filmmaker or artist -– I just hope I’m able to raise the money and take full advantage.

Closing thoughts?

Please pledge!

Progress Report: Prints + Poems

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:58:08 -0500

Artist Laura Brown combines poetry and art with her letter-pressed postcards, prints and chapbooks. Each features the work of a contemporary Midwestern writer on one side, and a hand-printed piece of her own art on the other. Inspiration for the idea struck while she was attending a reading for poet MC Hyland — she found one of the pieces so striking that she turned it into an art-print. And the concept only grew from there. “Since my prints deal with the Midwestern landscape and architecture, I was really drawn to poems that had to do with that,” Laura explained to us. “I knew there were other local poets whose work I also liked and would fit with the project. Six seemed like a doable number of poems to work with, so I chose six poets.”

Laura, who will be completing the project during her four month residency at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, has already been hard at work with her letter-press (that’s an original piece of hers, above). She’s not sweating the job, though: “I find myself staring at a huge mountain of a project, but that is exactly the challenge and excitement I go for… I see it as a huge step toward what I really want to be doing and I’m really thrilled to have the opportunity!”

Check out some more shots from her works-in-progress below. Support her project here.

Kickstarter at SXSW

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:00:00 -0500

For those of you heading down to Austin in the next week for SXSW Interactive and Music, here’s where you can find us.

First off, we’re throwing a party with Tumblr, Soundcloud, and some other TBA folks. It’s at Emo’s on Saturday, March 13th from 6:30pm until late. Definitely stop by there and say hello!

In terms of panels and presentations, there are several featuring members of the Kickstarter team.

Fred Benenson on “Can You Copyright a Tweet,” Saturday, March 13th at 12:30pm.

Andy Baio is doing a solo talk on “Gaming the Crowd: Turning Work Into Play,” Sunday, March 14th at 11am.

Perry Chen on “Funding Your Projects From the Crowd,” Monday, March 15th at 9:30am. Joining Perry will be Robin Sloan (of Robin Writes a Book) and Britta Riley (of Windowfarms).

Yancey Strickler on “Crowdfunding Music: Raising Money From Fans,” Wednesday, March 17th at 3:30pm. Joining my panel are Allison Weiss (of Allison Weiss fame) and Jamin Brophy-Warren (of Kill Screen).

Hope to see you there!

Counting Down With Courtney & the Dirty Curls!

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:45:00 -0500

Courtney McClean and the Dirty Curls have just posted a hilarious video of themselves counting down their project’s last few seconds in (extremely loud) unison. Wait until you see what happens when the clock hits zero — it makes New Years Eve look like a trip to the public library. Celebrate good times, y’all!! And while you’re at it, watch the group’s jubilant antics in their entirety here.

Kickstarter Podcast #4: Building the Open Source Bussard Fusion Reactor

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:15:07 -0500

The latest Kickstarter podcast (subscribe on iTunes or listen online) features a conversation with Famulus, a hacker-turned-inventor who is attempting to create an open source fusion reactor using Kickstarter. The project is currently $700 short of its $3,000 goal with five days to go.

Right-click to download the nine-minute podcast

Famulus’ project took an odd twist last week when he posted a project update called “Close Encounter With an Investor.” The fascinating post carefully details his conversations and email exchanges with a Dutch energy investor who was interested in bringing serious funding to Famulus’ research. At one point the investor asked him how much money he needed to really bring the project to fruition. Famulus replied:

“Full realization of a break-even reactor will require $200M+. Full commercialization will require another ~$200M. Successful development and commercialization will lead to net income on the order of $100B/year.

Year 1: Tackle small-scale research. < $1M
Year 2: Build a sub-break-even superconducting reactor running p-11B continuously with a single cell of direct energy conversion. $11M
Year 3: Build-out of break-even reactor. $100M
Year 4: Build-out and operation of break-even reactor. $100M
Year 5: Begin commercialization. $200M
Year 6: IPO”

A $412 million project — a Kickstarter first!

In the end the investor declined, and Famulus’ experiments are on hold until the Kickstarter project ends. (He needs to buy a couple hundred dollars’ worth of parts.)

Our conversation was awesome. It was hard not to be impressed by his smarts, knowledge, and passion. And he said that Kickstarter played a huge role in this quest. As he remarked, “Kickstarter allowed me the avenue to say ‘I need money’ in an appropriate way.”

To listen to the brief podcast (just nine minutes), subscribe on iTunes or stream online. And to support Famulus’ project, head this way. Thanks!

Creator Q&A: Superhero - The Unofficial Web Series

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:31:00 -0500

Student filmmakers Steve, Flor and Michael shot the twelve episode run of Superhero: The Unofficial Web Series using a mixture of live action sequences, stop-motion animation, and 2-D hand-drawn backgrounds. They refer to their unique approach as creating “a living comic book” — let the five year old in us all rejoice! — and their Kickstarter project will secure them the funds to complete post-production. Despite being on a self-imposed work-around-the-clock schedule to complete the series, director/producer Steve was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about the current state of superheroes, rejection letters, and mixed-media filmmaking.

Read the Q&A below. Support the project here.

Why superheroes? What appeals to you about them?

I have been a fan of Superheroes since I was old enough to tie a towel around my neck to serve as an impromptu cape. The idea that a person decides to take what they’ve got, whether it be special abilities, money, or otherwise, and dedicate them to the greater good is really interesting to me. Everyone has a special gift — whether you use it to rule the world or to serve it determines whether you get the label “hero” or “villain.”

What inspired your use of mixed-media? I imagine it’s been a challenging medium to work in — how has it compared to “traditional” filmwork for you?

Mixed media animation has always interested me, and when we were conceiving the project, we knew we wouldn’t have the money to go to a farm and an office or build a full robot and crystal fortress, so we needed to find a creative and cost effective way to bring the story to life. 3D animation is great, but we really wanted to make this look as unique as possible, and having actual miniatures and puppets will really fit into our comic book style. In terms of workflow, stop motion animation is very time consuming, so it takes about as long as computer graphics. The only difference is once our stop motion elements are shot, they need to be composited into the existing shots, so in the end it takes a little longer. But the end result is different, and very worth it. All in all, we wanted to use our low budget as an advantage, and utilize it to think creatively rather than allowing our budget to stop us from telling our story.

Any cool anecdotes from the filming you’ve done so far?

We brought in some extras for an action scene that takes place in the pilot in a bank, and one of the older actors didn’t check his email before arriving on set. He walked into our studio space, saw lots of green material, guys with guns, but no bank. He was very confused. “Where’s the vault door?” “That green box.” I said. “What about the exploding wall?” “You’re looking at it. Use your imagination!” Needless to say, he was very confused.

Best rejection you’ve ever gotten (you don’t have to answer this)?

Rejection is a funny thing — they say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger; well in this instance, what didn’t kill our Web Series made us more determined! After we wrapped principal photography on the series, Flor (my producing partner) and myself left the country on another project, and we left our series in the hands of a very capable artist. Due to the remote areas we were working in, our access to computers was limited, so we could only assume the work was moving along without a hitch. Upon returning (almost five months later) I called up the artist to see if we had a rough cut, as was his goal. I’ll never forget the phone call — “Yea…I don’t have time to finish this. Sorry guys.” By finish, he meant “do more more than three shots.” So we were back to square one, but were resolved to find new, better artists. And sure enough, once buzz got going for the series, I reached out to artists/fans around the world who will be working on the project remotely, and their work is far beyond what I could have imagined. And we’re still looking! Success is the greatest revenge I guess…

If you could have a superpower, what and why?

If I could have a superpower it would definitely be super-speed. If you could go really, really fast, it would negate any other powers — you could walk on water, move out of the way of bullets, be basically invisible — it would also be really helpful when it comes to making deadlines…

How has your use of Kickstarter gone so far?

Kickstarter has been an unbelievable asset to our production — after uploading our materials to the site, we found a huge outpouring of support — both financial and otherwise — that really reminded us why we’re making the project in the first place: for superhero fans everywhere. Our ability to connect directly with people who want to see the project come to life is invaluable, and we would never have been able to finish this without having Kickstarter in our corner.

Closing thoughts?

The most amazing part of the experience so far has been fans who email us and say “Hey — I don’t really have money to help right now, but good luck! I’m pulling for you!” Honestly, support (the non-financial kind) from people like that is what reminds us why we do this — from one fan to another, we appreciate people taking the time send the thumbs up. We had (and are still having) so much fun making this series, and we hope people have as much fun watching. Up, up, and away!

Jens Pulver Update

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:40:00 -0500

Tonight is Jens Pulver’s big mixed martial arts fight, the centerpiece of Gregory Bayne’s documentary that was recently funded on Kickstarter and likely the last fight of Pulver’s career.

For the project’s backers, the past week has been amazing. Bayne has been posting images like the ones above and below as Pulver goes through his final training. (Note that all of the project’s updates have been for backers only.)

Thanks to both Pulver and Bayne for the extraordinary access, and best of luck to Jens in his match.

SAD UPDATE: As Bayne detailed in a post late on Saturday night. Pulver lost his match. Greg’s post:

If you didn’t tune in, I’m sad to be the bearer of bad news… Jens lost his bout via a tap out when Javier held him in what looked to be an excruciating arm-bar.

True to the Jens Pulver I’ve come to know and love though, he was beyond gracious in defeat, as the entire arena erupted in cheers of love and support as he both entered, and left the arena.

Through this process I’ve truly come to love the man as family. He is the absolute kindest, most giving human being I have ever met. While, I must admit I’m personally heartbroken for Jens, knowing how hard he has worked, how much he has sacrificed, this film has always been about the man, and never the outcome of this fight.

Backers of the project and Pulver began to chime in leave encouraging comments like this one:

Jens has already proven himself time and time again as a champion inside and outside of the cage. Obviously tonight’s loss is heartbreaking. But true to cliche, it’s about the entire war and not just one battle. Jens Pulver has fought a legendary war, and will continue to be an inspiration to me and so many others. Can’t wait to see the film.

Thanks again to the extraordinary access Bayne and Pulver are affording their fans. It’s been an incredible experience.

More New Arrivals

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:50:00 -0500

We can barely keep up with all the cool projects launching this week! Yancey already gave us a mid-week update, but here’s a few more that shouldn’t be missed.

i3 Detroit v2.0 by i3 Detroit

i3 Detroit is a community hackerspace offering classes, workshops, and open workspace. Backers can pledge for a menagerie of tech-goodies — like fully customized Scrabble keychains — or classes on topics like “Bob Ross Paint-a-Long” and “Cross Stitching Mario Brothers Characters.” The folks behind the space are very serious about their endeavor, but I love how that doesn’t stop them from having a sense of humor. For example, their project video is disguised as an amusing plea to “End Robot Poverty.”

Street Earrings by Stephen Williams

The Street Earrings project will turn a map of your favorite city into a pair of gorgeous, gold-plated earrings. I’m still on the fence about the $50 pledge required to get a pair, but I love browsing possible cityscapes on Google Maps in the meantime. Also worth checking out are the trio’s similarly designed Street Clocks.

Swimming Away : A Short Film by Margarita Jimeno

I’m a big fan of Margarita Jimeno’s Swimming Away project. She’s clearly funny (citing “Polar Bear Poop” as an inspiration) — but also dedicated. Her project page is laid out beautifully, and her project blog has been an enticing window into the world of movie-making. You can watch a short-but-sweet audition video from it here.

We can’t wait to see what happens next week!

The Ethical Butcher reveals backer-made bacon (sort of)

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:09:39 -0500

As part of his Kickstarter project, Berlin Reed (aka, our pal the The Ethical Butcher) offered backers a chance to create and name their own, unique bacon flavors. “Sky’s the limit!” he promised, which had us pretty excited for the results. Luckily, our hopes we’re not in vain. Berlin just posted the final list of backer-made flavors — and we get hungry just looking at it! Delicious stuff.

Check out the complete list below. My personal faves are “Back Cove,” “Monty Python” (triple ginger and Bailey’s? yum!) and “What a Piaga!”

iheartbacon————- tamari, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, wasabi
Back Cove—————- pine, juniper, rosemary, lavender, maple
YaYa’s———————- tapenade, apricot, herbs on lamb
Fat Apple Rum——-pineapple, honey, rum, jalepeno & serrano peppers
Oma’s Kitchen———dill, mustard, B sugar, onion, bay leaf, caraway seed
Diego Special———-honey, clove, lemon
Super Delicious De Luxe—maple, cinnamon, strawberry, honey
Ready Times————cocoa, strawberry, lemon, honey, cinnamon tea
Orangevale—————apricots and preserved blood oranges, bergamot and clementines w/aleppo peppers, cardamom & fennel pollen
Troublemaker———-marionberry, 5 spice
Monty Python————-triple ginger, cocoa, rubbed with bailey’s
What a Piaga!———-rosemary, sage, thyme, fennel, garlic, sun-dried tomato

For more on The Ethical Butcher, check out his ongoing project blog or his official website.

Dragons the Series

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:01:21 -0500

“Dragons is a TV show about two beat up old skateboard buddies named Bruce and Vince. They call themselves Dragons, an identity that falls somewhere between hippies and pirates… Their quest leads them to the top of Mountain Lion Mountain. Once there, they plan to skate down it, turn into balls of fire, and fly away as Dragons.”

So begins the project description for Dragons, an awesome new Kickstarter project that’s best encapsulated by their project video:

How can you argue with lines like, “Do you like climbing trees high on PCP, blindfolded?”

The project went live yesterday, and is off to a strong start: 22% of its funding in its first day. We’re big fans.

New Arrivals

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:53:12 -0500

Cassie and I began this morning like we do every other, going through every project that launched overnight. But today something special happened. The first four projects we came across were all so amazing I backed each of them. Four newly launched projects, each one as great as the one before.

Here’s a look at them.

Almost Super — A Novel by Matthew Buckley

Matthew Buckley’s novel about a child who discovers he has superpowers is amazingly pitched with a dramatic, handmade video of still drawings and voiceovers. It sets the scene perfectly, and whet my appetite for more. I also thought this reward was clever:

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo by Jessica Oreck

Beetle Queen is a documentary from Jessica Oreck about Japan’s fascination and celebration of insects. The trailer is pretty incredible and vaguely psychedelic. It also includes this:

I wasn’t as psyched about the rewards, so I pledged the minimum $3 to show my appreciation for the film. But I am keeping my eye on the $50 reward, which is a 39” x 27” film poster. Love that aesthetic. We’ll see!

The Apology Line by William Bridges

William Bridges is a filmmaker from the UK who created the anonymous phone line (see the image above) where Britons could call in and unload their secrets. Now he wants to do the same in the US.

This might sound like little more than a clever conceit (it did to me at first) until you begin watching the video. As (moving) still-lifes of loneliness and despair beautifully roll across the screen, we hear heartbreaking admissions: lovers cheated on, money stolen, lifetimes of guilt laid bare. I watched all ten minutes of it, and was rapt the entire time.

I opted for the $10 reward: someone’s apology emailed to me. I’m not really sure what to expect, or even if that’s something I want to have arrive in my inbox. But listening to these people tell their stories — huddled in their bathrooms, voices hushed, in the middle of the night — it felt like a respectful way to acknowledge their honesty and pain.

Above Ground Episodes by J Wise

To be honest I’m still not entirely sure what this project is. I only know that:

The video was pleasantly, mysteriously weird (always a good thing).
Josh Wise and Nick Stumpf from a great NYC band called the French Kicks are involved.

Apparently they’re making short video pieces accompanied by music and other mixed media. Which could mean pretty much anything, but considering the aesthetic and who’s involved, I’m in.

We’re thrilled to have all of these projects, and I’m hoping for their success!

Title Sequences

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:52:00 -0500

Who doesn’t love an awesome movie title sequence? In reading some project updates today, we came across two title-related updates that we had to share.

The first is a beautifully Hitchcockian trailer from Randy Nargi’s thriller The Hike. He originally posted it in a backer-only project update, and he was gracious enough to share it with the Kickstarter community. Fantastic stuff:

Gray Miller from Sea Monster: a 3-D stereoscopic web series exploring new film grammar also had exciting news today. The Sea Monsters title sequence is a finalist for the SXSW Title Design Competition, up against little films like Up in the Air, Where the Wild Things Are, and Zombieland. Here are the credits:

Very cool! Congrats to Randy and Gray on their excellent work.

Crying and Laughing

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:18:17 -0500

“It’s a really interesting project, but I’ll be completely honest and say that anthologies are extremely difficult to make work unless you have major writers (ie., proven bestsellers or those with literary cachet) signed up. It’s also very difficult to sell material that has already been published online unless it’s combined with a majority of new, never-before-published material.

“Thanks for the chance to take a sneak peak at what you’re working on. Should you embark on anything else, I’d be interested to hear about it. In the meantime, best of luck finding the right home for this project.”

— Meaghan O’Connell posts the agent rejection letter she and Melissa Gira Grant once received for Coming & Crying.

Note that yesterday the project finished 575% funded with over $17,000 raised. I guess they did find the right home for their project?

Yestadt Millinery Drops By

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:37:00 -0500

We just had a nice surprise. Matt Kliegman of the recently successful Yestadt Millinery project (and our upstairs neighbor) dropped by bearing gifts!

Here’s Matt presenting Perry with the same Yestadt piece that Rihanna once wore.

Of course we all decided that Cassie should wear it, but she got all Shy Ronnie on us, and now it sits perched on her monitor:

Also you might notice that our office seems pretty full today. That’s because the whole team is here in NYC for the very first time! Expect lots of group silliness this week. Good times.

Snow Day

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:53:00 -0500

A peek out our backdoor on yet another snowy day in NYC.

New Project Roundup

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:00:00 -0500

The site has been getting flooded with amazing projects recently, so Cassie and I thought we’d run through some of our recent faves:

James Kochalka + Pixeljam = Glorkian Warrior: A comic artist and a beloved retro gaming team collaborate on a creative new 2D game. The project got off to a fast start (even Adult Swim has been promoting it!), and we’re hoping it continues.

Scrapbook of Many Authors: When it comes to interactive art projects, no one can touch the prolific Gaily, who previously launched Send a Postcard, Get a Postcard and 100 Self Portraits. In this latest effort, $1 earns a contribution to a group scrapbook. Easy, affordable, and fun!

Brooklyn Soda Works: Caroline and Antonio are crafting unique, artisanal sodas from all-natural ingredients. Our favorites so far are Maple-Bacon and Glögg (really, we’re not making this up).

Everglades Multi-Media Art Book: Jules Jones spent last year as the Artist in Residence at Everglades National Park (how cool that such a thing exists!), and his project will turn his work into a collection. His artwork — which you can view in his project video or on his website — is amazing. Here’s a great example:

For $50 (I backed it) backers get a copy of the final book and an audio CD of Everglades field recordings.

Feiffer Dancer Films: Feiffer Dancer Films are turning the cartoons of legendary artist Jules Feiffer into interpretative dance pieces. The resulting short films will be free, but you can pledge for fun stuff like ice cream and a coffee date with the producers.

Ladies Rooms Around the World: Maxi Cohen has spent over three decades traveling and documenting women’s restrooms around the world. Her photographs and films cover everything from a Miami hotel bathroom in 1972 to a modern-day discoteca in Brazil. Truly arresting material.

Here’s an example of a past work of hers that we loved:

Release the Next Inpassing Album: We’re always happy to come across a creatively constructed music project, and the Inpassing’s is definitely that. Though the goal is simple — make a record — they did a great job with their video, and the rewards are great. An example:

Well-priced, creative, and really fun for their fans. Nicely done!

New Podcast: Coming & Crying

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:38:00 -0500

Meaghan O’Connell and Melissa Gira Grant of Coming & Crying are the guests on the third Kickstarter podcast, which went up on iTunes this morning. (You can subscribe on iTunes or download/stream from the web.) From the beginning of Coming & Crying, we were struck by what an amazing job Meaghan and Melissa did of putting themselves into their project. Being a backer was far more than a financial transaction; you really felt a part of their vision.

We invited Meaghan and Melissa down to the Kickstarter offices a few weeks ago to discuss their success, the origins of their project, and whether their parents knew what they were up to. Unsurprisingly it was an awesome conversation, and we came away inspired by their passion and excited to see how their project would grow.

The project itself has just four days to go, with nearly $12,000 raised on a $3,000 goal. Amazing stuff. Be sure to tune into our conversation and to back their project if you haven’t already.

Choose Your Flavor, Mix CDs from Brooklyn Soda Works

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:09:22 -0500

The folks behind Brooklyn Soda Works are giving us a peek at the specially themed mixtapes they’re offering as rewards. Each has been inspired by one of their unique soda flavors, and they are all totally awesome. My favorite is the Maple Bacon, and not just because that’d be my soda of choice (yummm, bacon):

“Maple Bacon - Smoky, Sweet, Sexy Soul.
A mix of soulful, funky, meaty cuts from the 60’s til now. Bonus- guaranteed to include at least one Canadian”

For the adventurous among us, a recipe for the actual soda is available at their blog. But for the rest, a full rundown of mix CD flavors can be found at their project blog. Support the project here.

The Beauty of Updates

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:53:00 -0500

I’ve come to think of pitch videos and project descriptions as first dates. The most idealized versions of ourselves. A little stiff, maybe laughs a little too hard at jokes. It’s often endearing, occasionally awkward, but we all understand how it works.

Project updates are relationships. You get a feel for who someone actually is, how they think, what motivates them. It humanizes the project, and I’ve increasingly found that that human element is exactly what sparks me to pledge. I love reading about a project’s struggles — the more mundane the better.

When done right, project updates highlight the narrative of a project perfectly. It’s like a mini reality TV show where we love the whole cast and we know the drama is real. That’s what it’s like following Allison Weiss or watching Emily Richmond’s updates from sea. It’s a privilege to share in those stories and to bask in their warm glow. It’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever had the pleasure to do on the web.

All of this struck me today as I read through some of the recent updates to hit the site. Watching the Quiet’s genius cat video, which had the office laughing hard. Or even stumbling across a classical music project I hadn’t seen before and seeing this beautiful photo:

Or the latest short story from Andrew vs. The Collective, in which he turned his audiences text submissions into a story cheekily optimized for SEO. Or an intense photo gallery from Brandon Schulman’s Portrait of America Left Behind photography project that leaves us nearly breathless from its beauty. Or all of Coming + Crying, which feels like joining the nicest sex club the world has ever known.

Forget dating — let’s marry these projects, raise some kids, and grow old together. As backers, that’s what it sometimes feels like. It’s intimate and real. We’ll soon make it easier to uncover updates and their stories. Maybe you can fall in love too.

Anatomy of a Giant Puppet with The Museum Proper

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:44:00 -0500

The Museum Proper is a contemporary performance company putting on free, public puppet shows, and they’re planning to create a giant (over twelve feet tall!) puppet for their upcoming festival debut. Blame our curiosity on a lasting affinity for Jim Henson, but we just had to know: how exactly does one build a giant puppet?! Lucky us, founding puppeteer Dax Tran-Caffee was happy to provide a glimpse of the creative process. Check out the creature’s evolution from diagram (above) to full-color illustration to working prototype. Very cool stuff!

You can see more puppets-in-the-making here. Support the project here.

Watch the complete prototype demonstration at his project blog here.